Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Did Reut read the wrong haftara?

Guest post by Lurker

WARNING: Contains spoilers for Srugim episode 9 ("ניקוי יבש").

Last week, Jameel was too busy with flying to America and back to blog about that week’s Srugim episode, so I’ll pitch in to provide the obligatory post now. (It’s a week late, but better late than never…)

When Yifat and Hodaya object to Reut’s plan to date both Yochai and Noam at the same time, Reut defends herself by asserting that Rav Shlomo Aviner paskened that this is allowed. Well, apparently this generated quite a hubbub, to the point that Rav Aviner himself has responded to Reut’s claim, as reported by YNet. (The Hebrew version has a bit more in the way of details.) At first glance, he seems to be denying what Reut said, but read to the end:

Rabbi Aviner responded: "Certainly not," and proceeded to explain that dating two men simultaneously is generally a dishonest and immoral act. However, the rabbi admitted that there are some exceptions to the rule.

"Only in unusual cases, when the woman is older and time is running out, and the guy takes his time making a decision," is it ok to multi-date.

Rav Aviner’s exception would seem to imply, then, that it’s OK for the women in the bitza. (I’m not sure what he’d say about inviting two dates to the same Shabbat dinner, though.)

The episode’s closing scene, where Reut read the haftara, was emotionally powerful and beautiful. I do have a nitpick, however:

In episode 7 ("תפסיק לפחד"), when Yifat meets with the gabbai to plan her kiddush, he tells her that she can do the kiddush either that Shabbat or in another three weeks; and that the two intervening Shabbatot are Shabbat Mevorkhin (the Shabbat before Rosh Hodesh) and "the Kaufman bar mitzva".

In episode 9 ("ניקוי יבש"), when Reut reads her haftara, it is a week later, on the following Shabbat. I.e., it takes place on the Shabbat that the gabbai had referred to as Shabbat Mevorkhin. But the haftara that Reut reads is the one for Shabbat Rosh Hodesh (Yeshayahu 66)! Therefore it wasn’t Shabbat Mevorkhin -- that would have been the previous Shabbat (episodes 7 and 8). So, if what the gabbai said was right, then Reut read the wrong haftara.

Eliezer StrongBad: Why do you assume that only one shabbos passed since yifat's kiddush?

There were actually several things that indicated this. Among them: Yifat asking Nati in the the hospital, "Why did you run away on Shabbat?", and her subsequent question about why he then ignored her phone messages "all week".

Anonymous @ 9:23 PM: I like "srugim" too, but this extended gossiping about every detail of every show is a bit much!

To each their own, as they say.

As a lifelong, incurable Star Trek fan, I am in the habit of closely examining the details of TV shows and films that I enjoy. Some may find this hard to believe, but for me, nitpicking a show is a sign of great respect for it.

In general, I don't examine details of a TV show this closely. The typical show is made so carelessly, and is so full of fallacies and contradictions, that there would be no point. But there are a few higher-quality shows where it is clear that the writers and directors have expended serious effort on accuracy and consistency -- and Srugim is clearly such a show. If the show wasn't already doing such an impressive job in the first place -- and if I didn't hold it in such high regard -- I wouldn't bother to nitpick those few points where they messed up.

Questions About Aviner: Aviner is the last person to listen to on this issue or any issue.

That might be, but the point of my post was not to endorse R. Aviner, or to take a position on the controversies that surround him. Nor, in my opinion, was that the point in the episode. Whatever you or others may think of him, it is an undeniable fact that a great many people in the dati leumi community hold R. Aviner in high regard and follow his halakhik rulings. And the comment by Reut in this episode was simply a reflection of that fact.

On the other hand, it is conceivable that Yifat was alluding to the controversy of which you speak when she retorted to Reut, "and since when do you pay attention to R. Aviner?"

aliyah06: How about "artistic license?" The writers liked that Haftorah better so went with it....Go Star Trek fans!!

A true Star Trek fan would never accept a cop-out like "artistic license" as a teretz on a stira. If they did, we would still be living today without any explanation of why the Klingons in the original series had no ridges on their foreheads...